Liquid dispenser



R. L. DAMREL LIQUI DIS Get. 15, 1968 PEN SER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 25, 1966 'l 1 :Il

l lll o-lTlllilnL E mm v0 mL l P. M 0 f BY/Mw# ATTOEA/FYS Oct. l5, 1968 R. l.. DAMREL LIQUID DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 25, 1966 INVENTOR 18056571. ANEEL United States Patent Oh ice j 3,405,848 Patented Oct. 15, 1968 3,405,848 LIQUID DISPENSER Robert L. Damrel, Beaumont, Tex., assigner to Haskou,

Inc., Warsaw, Ind., a corporation of Delaware Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 417,126,

Dec. 9, 1964. This application Nov. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 596,979

9 Claims. (Cl. Z22-481.5)

ABSTRACT OF THE DSCLOSURE This invention relates to a manually operable device for dispensing liquid from a container, such as a plastic jug of substantial size. Speciiically, the dispenser has an elongated, hollow cylinder, open at the opposite ends thereof, and cap means connected to said barrel for attaching same to the pouring spout of the jug and, at the same time, closing the spout. A pair of passages extend through the cap means and the side wall of the cylinder for communication between the interior of the cylinder and the interior of the jug through the pouring spout thereof. The central axis of the cylinder is transverse of the opening in the pouring spout so that liquid can ow from the jug through one of the passages and thence downwardly through the open end of the cylinder when the jug is resting on its side.

This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 417,126, iiled Dec. 9, 1964, now abandoned.

Valve means is provided for closing 4the lower end of the cylinder. A valving element divides the interior of the cylinder into an upper air chamber and -lower liquid chamber. The valving element is positioned so that it normally blocks the air passage, and the valve means is normally closed. The valving element and the valve means are simultaneously movable by manually operable means to open the air passage and the lower end of the cylinder. The cylinder is pierced by an air inlet near the upper end of the air chamber.

As a result of the foregoing structure, movement of the valve means and valving element into their open positions permits air to ow from atmosphere through the air inlet into the air chamber and thence through the air passage into the jug, whereby liquid can flow, due to gravity, out of the jug through the lower passage and thence downwardly out of the lower end of the liquid chamber. Although specific reference is made herein to particular containers for illustrative purposes, the invention can be applied to other types of containers having pouring spouts.

Persons familiar with the sale and/or distribution of edible liquids, for example, have long recognized the need for an inexpensive, easily operable and leakproof dispenser, which is easily and quickly mountable upon the'pouring spout of a container, such as a rectangular plastic jug, which can be easily stored on its side upon the shelf of a refrigerator. Thus, where the liquid is milk, fruit juice or even water, the dispenser can be conveniently transferred to a full container of the beverage from an empty container. Previous dispensing devices of this general type have been complicated, expensive, or required special manipulation of the container each time their use is desired. Moreover, such previous dispensers were not designed for use with a container full of liquid and resting on its side in a refrigerator. Normally, the dispenser will be used with a gallon jug or larger, but it is not so limited.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which may be quickly and easily attached to and detached from a container, such as a glass bottle or plastic jug having a pour spout, for the purpose of dispensing liquid from said container.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of the character described which can be attached to an oiTset spout of a bottle for use when the bottle and its spout are in a horizontal line adjacent the lower side of the bottle, said dispenser having means actuable to cause the liquid contents of said bottle to flow out of said bottle and through said dispenser into an open glass or container, as needed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of the character described which has a springloaded actuating rod operable in a cylinder, which rod when moved lengthwise will carry a valving element mounted thereon below an air passage, which is formed through the wall of said cylinder, to open said air passage -or communication thereof lbetween the interior of a bottle to which said dispenser is attached and the interior of said cylinder to allow atmospheric air to enter said bottle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of the character described which, when attached to the oiset spout of a relatively large bottle having its side wall in a horizontal position, has a spring-loaded rod operable in an upright cylinder to open a valve in the lower end thereof and simultaneouly actuate a valving element mounted thereon to open an air passage in communication between said bottle and an air chamber above said valving element in said cylinder, whereby atmospheric air may enter said air chamber through an air inlet in the wall of said cylinder and exposed to the atmospheric air, ,and thence move into said bottle, so that the liquid in said bottle may flow by gravity through an intake hose, extending into the interior of said bottle and connected to a passage communicating with a liquid chamber in said cylinder below said valving element, and thence ilow through said liquid chamber and past said valve.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of the character described which, when attached to the spout of a lbottle having its side wall in a horizontal position, has a spring held rod urged in an upright cylinder to close a valve in the lower end thereof and simultaneously position a valving element mounted thereon to close an air lpassage in communication between an air chamber above said valving element and the interior of said bottle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of the character described which can -be attached to the spout of a bottle for use when the side wall of the bottle is in a horizontal position, whereby, when the liquid contents of the bottle is lowered to the level of a liquid passage through the wall of said cylinder in communication Ibetween said Ibottle and the liquid chamber in said cylinder, the remaining liquid contents of the `bottle may, upon depressing the rod to open the valve at the end of said cylinder, be siphoned from said said bottle through the liquid hose which extends from said liquid passage to a point adjacent the interior bottom side of the bottle.

These and other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be more fully disclosed in the specification, the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical and substantially central crosssectional view of a dispenser embodying the invention and attached to a lbottle;

FIGURE 2 is a cross section taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a broken, side elevational view of a jug to which is `attached a modified dispenser embodying the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a front elevational view of said modified dispenser;

FIGURE 6 is -an enlarged, sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a fragment of FIGURE 6 showing parts thereof in different positions of operation;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken along the line lX-IX in FIGURE 6.

For convenience in description, the terms upper, lower and wordsof similar import will have reference to the dispenser as appearing in FIGURES 1 and 4. However, the top of the containers appearing in FIG- URES 1 and 4 is at the leftward end thereof. The terms front, rear and words of similar import will have reference to the left and right sides, respectively, of the dispenser appearing in FIGURES 1 and 4. The terms inner, outer and derivatives thereof will have reference to the geometric center of said dispenser and parts associated therewith.

Description The invention will be better understood from a more detailed description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which like numeraled parts in the various views denote like numeraled parts herein. The numeral 1 denotes a glass bottle having a pour spout 2 with exterior corrugations 3 and 4. A cylinder 5, which may have a noncircular cross section and is preferably made of nontoxic plastic, has an integral flexible cap 6 attached to the outer surface of said cylinder 5. The cap 6 may be stretched over the corrugation 3 on the spout 2to seal about the same and, being exible, may be easily detached from said spout.

The cylinder 5 has a rod 7 with enlarged head 8 on its upper end. Said rod 7 extends through said cylinder 5 with a resiliently exible, as rubber, valve 9 mounted on the lower end of said rod 7 to close against seat 10 around the discharge opening 23 at the lower end of the cylinder 5. Said rod 7 has a resiliently exible valving element 11 mounted thereon between the ends thereof. Said valving element 11 has an elognated side wall 10A which sealingly engages the inner surface of the side wall 13 of cylinder 5 along two spaced and circular zones 13A and 13B.

An air passage 12 is formed through the wall 13 of the cylinder 5 and the adjacent end of the cap 6. An air hose 14 is connected to said air passage 12 within the cap 6 and is positioned to extend through spout 2 and upwardly to a point adjacent the interior upper side 15 of the bottle 1 when the centerline of the bottle 1 and its spout 2 is directed in a horizontal position, as shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawing.

An air inlet 16 extends through the wall 13 of cylinder 5 above the cap 6 so that said air inlet 16 is exposed to the atmospheric air and preferably above the top of the liquid content in the bottle when it is full, hence, when the liquid is adjacent the upper side 15.

A liquid passage 17 is formed through the wall 13 of the cylinder 5 and through the top of the cap 6. A liquid hose 18 is connected to the passage 17 within the cap 6 and is positioned to extend through the spout 2 and downwardly to a point adjacent the interior lower side 19 of the bottle 1, when the centerline of the bottle and its spout 2 is directed in a horizontal position, as shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawing.

A spiral spring 20 surrounds the rod 7 and its lower end bears against the guide wall 21 located near the upper end of the cylinder Y5 and preferably above the air inlet 16. The rod 7 extends through a central opening 21A in, and is slideablyguided by, V the wall 21.`

The upper end of the spring 20 bears against the lower end 22 of the head 8, which end is slideably disposed within the upper end of the cylinder 5. The spring 20 is under compression when the valve 9 is bearing against the seat 10. At the same time, the annular zones 13A and 13B of the valving element 11 are on opposite sides of the air passage 12 so that its communication with the interior of the cylinder 5 is effectively blocked.

In preparation for use, the bottle 1 is substantially filled with liquid 24, such as milk, and the flexible cap 6 is stretched over the exterior corrugation 3 of the spout 2. The bottle is then tipped until its side wall is in a horizontal position so that the bottle 1 can, for example, be placed on its side on a shelf 30 in a refrigerator with the cylinder 5 in a vertical position relative thereto.

Upon depressing the head 8 manually, and thereby compressing the spring 20, the rod 7 is moved downwardly whereby the valve 9 is moved toward the position 9A wherein said valve is spaced from its seat 10 and liquid can ow through the discharge opening 23 in the lower end of the cylinder 5. lDownward movement of the rod 7 also causes the valving element 11 to travel to a position 11A below air passage 12 and above the liquid passage 17 therebelow and seal against the interior surface of the cylinder wall 13 therebetween to form a common wall between the air chamber 25 above the valving element 11 and a liquid chamber 26 below the valving element 11 in the cylinder S.

When the dispenser is attached to the spout of a bottle, as illustrated in the drawings, downward movement of rod 7 will move the valve 9 away from the discharge opening 23 at the lower end of the cylinder- 5 before the air passage 12 is opened by the valving element 11. Gravity urges the liquid through passage 17 from the bottle into the chamber 26, thereby creating a low pressure condition within the bottle. Thus, when the valving element 11 is moved downwardly in the cylinder to open the air .passage 12, atmospheric air is drawn through the air inlet 16, the air chamber 25, the air passage 12 and the air hose 14 to relieve the low pressure in the bottle. Thereafter, the liquid 24 in the bottle 1 can ow through the liquid hose 18, the liquid passage 17, the liquid chamber 26 and the discharge opening 23, under the urging of gravity. Upon continued or repeated actuation of the rod 7, by manually depressing said head 8, the liquid contents of the bottle 1 may be completely dispensed, as needed.

The air hose 14 may be terminated at the point 27, if desired, instead of extending to the interior ofthe bottle 1 adjacent interior inside wall 15 of the bottle 1. In such case, the air moves in bubbles from the passage 12 to the top of the liquid. Y

After the first use of the dispenser with a full or substantially full bottle 1 of liquid 24, the liquid chamber 26, passage 17 and hose 18 will remain lled with liquid between dispensing operations, unless the bottle is moved into a position where the lower end of hose 18 is exposed to. air. Thus, when the level of the liquid contents of the bottle 1 has been loweredto the level of Ithe bottom of the liquid passage 17, substantially all of the remaining portion of the liquid content 24 in the bottle 1 will be siphoned from the bottle by the liquid hose 18 upon depressing the rod 7. This siphoning of the remaining portion of the liquid content in the bottle 1 is accomplished due to the fact that the discharge opening 23 at the bottom end of the cylinder 5 is lower than the interior bottom side 19 of the bottle 1.

Alternate structure The alternate dispenser 36 (FIGURES 4 and 5) is adapted for use with a thin-walled, plastic jug 37, which is disclosed herein as rectangular and having side, bottom and top walls. Said jug 37 has an offset pour spout 38 located adjacent one side wall 39 of the jug. Containers of other shapes and material may also be used with the dispenser 36. Generally speaking, the construction and operation of the dispenser 36 are similar to those disclosed and described above with respect to the dispenser appearing in FIGURE l. However, the dispenser 36 is preferably constructed so that its over-all length is not in excess of the vertical dimension of the jug 37 (FIGURE 4) when the side 39 thereof is resting upon the shelf 30 of a conventional refrigerator. Moreover, this vertical dimension (from front to rear When the jug is standing upright) is such that said jug can be readily stored upon the shelf of a refrigerator.

Thus, the jug 37 and dispenser 36 can be moved from a position of use, wherein the dispenser overhangs the front edge of the shelf 30 for dispensing liquids from within the jug 37, to a storage position inwardly of the edge of said shelf (as shown in broken lines at 30A), where it will not interfere with the door of the refrigerator.

The dispenser 36 has a cylinder 41 comprised of a barrel 42, which is hollow and open at its opposite axial ends, and a cup-shaped spring retainer `43. The lower end 44 of the retainer 43 is of reduced diameter and is snugly and slideably received into the upper end of the barrel 42. Said lower end 44 has a concentric opening 46 through which a valve stem or rod 47 is slideably and guidingly received. The lower end of the rod 47 has au annular groove 48 in which an annular valve 49 is snugly but removably seated for closing the discharge opening 51 at the lower end of the barrel 42. The valve 49 is preferably fabricated from a resiliently flexible material, such as rubber, so that it can be stretched and thereby forced over the lower end of the rod 47 and thence into the groove 48 during assembly of the dispenser 36, The valve 49 may have a beveled upper surface 52 snugly and sealingly engageable with a downwardly diverging valve seat 53 formed on the lower axial end of the barrel 42 around the opening 51.

A manually engageable head S4 is rigidly secured to the upper end of the valve stem 47 and its lower portion is slideably disposed within the upper end of the cavity 57 defined within the spring retainer 43. A spiral spring 58 encircles the stem 47 between the head 54 and the shoulder 59 defined by the upper end of the reduced lower end 44, Preferably, the spring 58 is under suicient compression to hold the valve 49 snugly and sealingly against the seat 53 when the jug 37 is full of liquid and in its position of FIGURE 4. The distance between the upper end of the retainer 43 and the flange 62 on the head 54 is such that the flange 62 will engage the retainer 43 when the valve 49 is spaced the proper distance from the seat 53.

The barrel 42 has an air inlet opening 63 adjacent the lower end 44 of the spring retainer 43. Said barrel 42 also has an integral saddle 64 diametrically opposite the air inlet opening 631 for engagement with the handle 66 of the jug 37, as appearing in FIGURE 8, whereby movement of the dispenser 36 with respect to the jug 37 is opposed.

A pair of closely spaced conduits 67 and 68 are preferably molded with, and preferably extend radially from, the barrel 42 near the lower end thereof. The upper conduit 67 has a relatively small air passage 69 and the lower conduit 68, which preferably extends in the same radial direction, has a relatively large liquid passage 72.

A substantially cylindrical valving element 73 is mounted upon the valve stem 47 near the lower end thereof for the purpose of controlling the flow of air through the air passage 69. Specifically, the valving element 73 has a sleeve 74 which snugly embraces the rod 47 and has at its lower end an inwardly extending, annular flange 76 which extends into the annular groove 77 in rod 47 for releasably holding said valving element 73 in a selected position and against axial movement with respect to the rod 47. The valving element 73 also includes a pair of integral, adjacent and annular sealing elements 78 and 79 which diverge away from their adjacent ends where they are rigidly secured to, or integral with, the upper end of the sleeve 74.

The divergent ends of the sealing elements 78 and 79 are of slightly larger dia-meter than the inside diameter of the barrel 42 so that they snugly and sealingly engage the inner surface 82 of the Vbarrel 42 at axially spaced and annular zones l83 and 84. The valving element 73: is preferably fabricated from a semirigid, resiliently exible plastic material, such as polyethylene, and the over-all, axial lengh of the sealing elements 78 and 79 is preferably not materially in excess of the axial distance between the adjacent edges of the air passage 69 and liquid passage 72, as shown in FIGURE 7. The valving element 73 is located upon the rod 47 so that the annular zones 83 and 84 are on opposite sides of the air passage 69 when the valve 49 is engaged with the valve seat 53. When the head 54 is depressed so that its flange 62 engages the spring retainer 43, the sealing elements 78 and 79 are disposed between the air passage 69 and liquid passage 72, whereby they provide a liquid-tight wall defining the upper end of the liquid chamber 86, below the valving element 73, and the lower wall of the air chamber 87 above the valving element 73.

A cap assembly 88 (FIGURES 6 and 9), for connecting the dispenser 36 to the spout 38, is comp-rised of a cupshaped cap 89 and an adapter 92 which provides a liquidtight connection between the cap 89 and the conduits 67 and 68 when the cap is properly engaged with the spout 38. The cap 89 has a concentric opening 93 in the end wall 94 thereof, and the adapter 92 has a sealing disk 96 which is of larger diameter than the opening 93 for sealing engagementwith the inner surface of the end wall 94. j

The adapter 92 (FIGURE 6) includes a pair of axially parallel and integral pipes 97 and 98 which project through the opening 93 in the end wall 94 of the cap 89. Said pipes have concentric openings 101 and 102, respectively, which are axially alignable with the conduits 67 and 68, respectively, and are of approximately the same inside diameters as the respective outside diameters of said conduits so that said conduits can be snugly, but slideably, received through the openings 101 and 102 for communication with the interior of the spout 38, hence the interior of the jug 37, when the cap assembly 88 is properly mounted upon the spout 38. In this particular embodiment, the spout 38 has external threads 103 which are engaged by the threads 104 in the side wall of the cap 89 for securing the cap essembly 88 upon the spout 38.

The upper end of the barrel 42 has sidewardly extending flanges 106 for comfortable engagement by the fingers of a human hand when the thumb thereof is in engagement with the head 54 for the purpose of depressing the head, whereby the valve `49 is opened and the valving element 73 is moved downwardly into its FIGURE 7 position, where it does not obstruct the air passage 69.

The operation of the alternate dispenser 36 is, in general, substantially the same as the operation of the dispenser disclosed in FIGURE 1. The principal difference in the operation of the two dispensers arises from the fact that the valving element 73, the air passage `69 and the liquid passage 72 are disposed closely adjacent the lower end of the barrel 42 because of the offset arrangement of 7 the spout 38 on the jug 37. However, by locating the spout 38 adjacent the lower side 39 of the jug 37, the dispenser 36 does not require either of the hoses 14 and 18 disclosed in FIGURE 1. That is, when the liquid level within the jug 37 reaches the lower side of the liquid passage 72, there is very little liquid left in the jug, and all but an ounce or so of that which is left can be removed by raising the rearward end of the jug 37 slightly (as about two or three inches) so that the liquid remaining therein moves into the spout 38. Witha jug of the type disclosed at 37, tilting will not be required until the jug is approximately 90 percent empty, hence, when the combined weight of the jug and its contents are relatively small. Thus, such tilting can be elected by grasping the dispenser 36 and handle 66 by the same hand which depresses the head 54 whereby the other hand is free to hold a receptacle to receive the remaining liquid thusly dispensed.

In a preferred embodiment, the jug 3-7 is fabricated from a plastic material, such as polyethylene, by a blowmolding process which produces a relatively thin wall structure, such as an average thickness of less than onesixteenth of an inch.

It will be seen that the -dispenser 36 can be easily removed frorn the jug 37 by unscrewing the cap 89. Also, the dispenser 36 can be completely disassembled easily and quickly merely by removing the valve 49 from the lower end of the valve stem 47, after which the valve stem with the valving element 73 thereon and the spring retainer 43 are moved through the upper end of the barrel 42. The parts of the dispenser can then be thoroughly cleaned and visually inspected for cleanliness.

It is obvious that many changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of the parts of the dispenser without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, although particular preferred embodiments of the inven'ion have been described above in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized that variations or modifications of such disclosure, which lie within the scope of the appended Claims, are fully contemplated.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed Iare defined as follows:

1. A dispenser for dispensing liquid from a container having a spout, comprising:

cylinder means having a discharge opening at the lower end thereof;

cap means attached to said cylinder means on an axis normal to the axis of said cylinder means and attachable over the spout of the container by an interlocking corrugation for sealing the spout with the cylinder means disposed vertically and the container arranged with the spout on a horizontal axis;

rod means mounted in said cylinder means for endwise sliding axially of said cylinder means;

valve means on the lower end of said rod means for closing said discharge opening;

a valving element mounted on said rod means within said cylinder means and spaced from said valve means, said valving element defining a movable wall dividing said cylinder means into an air chamber above said valving element and a liquid chamber below said valving element and above said valve means;

an air passage 4from said air chamber through said cylinder means and said cap means and a liquid passage from said liquid chamber through said cylinder means and said cap means, said air passage land said liquid passage being adapted to communicate with the interior of said container through the spout thereof when said cap means is attached to the spout of said container;

said rod means being movable endwise in the direction away from said discharge opening into a closed position wherein said valve means is closed relative to i said discharge opening and said valving element blocks said air passage in the opposite direction into an open position wherin said valve means is open relative to said discharge opening and said valving element is disposed between said air passage and said liquid passage and said air passage is unobstructed by said valving element;

means within the cylinder means biasing said rod means to said closed position; and

an .air inlet in the wall of said cylinder means in cornmunication between atmospheric air and said air chamber whereby air can ow to and through said air passage as liquid flows through said liquid passage.

2. A dispenser in accordance with claim 1, wherein said cylinder means comprises a cylindrical, open-ended barrel and a cup-Shaper spring retainer having a closed end snugly and removably received into the upper end of said air chamber, said closed end having a guide opening through which said rod means extends;

wherein said rod means includes head means extending above said cylinder means; and

wherein said biasing means is a spiral spring held under compression between said closed end and said head means.

3. A dispenser in accordance with claim 1, in which said air passage and said liquid passage are disposed adjacent to said lower end.

4. A dispenser in accordance with claim 1, in which said cap means comprises a cup-shaped cap having a concentric opening in the end wall thereof, and an adapter disk having conduit means capable of liquid-tight connection to said air passage means `and to said liquid passage means, said disk means being of larger diameter than the opening in said end wall and receivable in said cap for sealing engagement between said end wall and said spout.

5. A dispenser in accordance with claim 1, wherein said discharge opening is opened before said air passage is opened as said rod means moves from said closed position toward said open position.

6. A combined liquid-holding and liquid-dispensing apparatus, comprising:

a plastic jug having bottom, top and side walls deining a substantially rectangular compartment;

a spout extending above said top wall adjacent one side wall; cylinder means delining an elongated chamber having a discharge opening at one end thereof;

connector means attached to said cylinder means near said one end of said chamber and sealingly attachable to said spout with the axis of said chamber normal to the plane defined by said one side wall;

rst valve means for closing said discharge opening;

air passage means communicating between said chamber near said opening and the interior of said compartment through said connector means and said spout;

second valve means forming a liquid-tight wall transversely of said chamber and closing said air passage means;

liquid passage means communcating with said chamber between said air passage means and said irst valve means, and with the interior of said compartment through said connector means and said spout;

an air inlet communicating with said chamber remote from said one end thereof; and

manually operable actuating means connected to said rst and second valve means for simultaneously moving the same into and out of positions closing said air passage means and said discharge opening.

7. A combination according to claim 6, wherein said bottle has a handle extending toward said cylinder means; and

saddle means on said cylinder means engageable with said handle for holding said cylinder means in 4a selected position.

8. A dispenser in accordance with claim 1 having an air hose and a liquid hose attached respectively at one end to said air passage and to said liquid passage and adapted at its other end to extend through the spout and into the interior ofthe container.

9. A dispenser in accordance with claim 8 in which said air hose extends upwardly within the container and said liquid hose extends downwardly relative to said container.

10 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 98,986 1/ 1870 Marcy 222-484 2,319,517 5/1943 Rand 222-510 X 2,375,515 5/ 1945 Beaumier 222-484 X 2,796,205 6/ 1957 Kuzma 222-563 X FOREIGN PATENTS 417,945 9/ 1910 France.

23,134 1908 Great Britain. 634,739 11/1927 France.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner. 

